The sci-fi coming of age story Kin hit Digital November 6 and is coming to 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital), Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital), DVD, and On Demand this week. In anticipation of that release, we’re giving away the film on Blu-ray along with a copy of the Kin soundtrack on vinyl, from band Mogwai. Details below.

Kin is a science fiction film in that one of the main characters, a 14-year old boy, discovers a strange and powerful laser weapon in an abandoned building. But it’s often science fiction adjacent, focused more on that boy going on the run with his brother with a dangerous criminal hot on their heels. For most of the film’s running time, that ray gun is just a strange rogue element floating through a drama about brothers and fathers and sons.

And then, in Kin‘s wild third act, the science fiction steps to the forefront. And then there’s a cameo from a major movie star that has somehow managed to escape being highlighted in any trailers or marketing material. When I spoke with the directors and writer of the film, they told me how this all came together. And yes, there will be major spoilers.

Kin is a crime drama about two brothers on the run from a dangerous man, an intimate story of how family transcends blood. But there’s also a sci-fi gun in the mix.

Summing up the feature debut of directors Jonathan Baker and Josh Baker is a bit tough. It’s a science fiction movie where the genre elements sit at a distance, a movie featuring a powerful (Alien? Experimental? From the future?) laser gun that isn’t actually about the laser gun. It’s just something one of those brothers happened to find. A massive sci-fi world sits adjacent to Kin, even as the film focuses on those two brothers (Jack Reynor and Myles Truitt) and their relationship above all else.

I recently sat down with the Baker brothers, as well as screenwriter Dan Casey, to talk about this wild new movie, how they expanded their original short film, injecting genre elements into a more realistic world, and how Vimeo is the place to be for young filmmakers.

Jonathan and Josh Baker‘s debut feature Kin is an expansion of their short film Bag Man, a sci-fi coming-of-age story about a young boy who finds an oversized alien gun. The feature version, which features the boy and his brother on the run across the country with the gun in tow, has a stacked cast, including veterans like Dennis Quaid, Jack Reynor, Zoe Kravitz, Carrie Coon, and James Franco and newcomer Myles Truitt in the lead.

Now, the first reviews of the movie have arrived in advance of its theatrical release later this week. Check out what critics are saying about Kin below.Read More »

Netflix and streaming platforms have been rolling out so much vaguely cyberpunk-inspired science-fiction lately that it’s easy to be overwhelmed. But Lionsgate is bringing a new sci-fi film to theaters, and it’s one that boasts an impressive cast.

Kin stars Dennis Quaid, Zoe Kravitz, Jack Reynor, Carrie Coon, and newcomer Myles Truitt in a promising sci-fi film about a boy who stumbles upon a strange weapon, and the chaos that ensues after he does.

Last time we heard about the film Blackbird, it was calledKin. That was when Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde were cast as “two desperate sibling fugitives (Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde) on the run who subsequently collide with the holiday homecoming of a troubled ex-boxer (Charlie Hunnam).” The film’s name has changed, but that cast remains the same.

Now Kate Mara and Treat Williams have taken roles, playing a father and daughter who factor into the story. Sissy Spacek and Kris Kristofferson are also on board as the parents of Charlie Hunnam’s boxer. That’s a pretty cool parent pairing; in general this is shaping up with quite the strong cast. Stefan Ruzowitzky is directing from a script by Zach Dean, and the film shoots in March in Montreal. [Variety]

After the break, a shortlist for actresses that could end up in The Trade, the film about Yankee baseball players and wife-swapping that is being written by Ben and Casey Affleck. Read More »

Stefan Ruzowitzky (The Counterfeiters) is preparing to direct a crime thriller called KIN, and Eric Bana, Olivia Wilde (one of the few standout elements in Tron Legacy) and Charlie Hunnam are all in talks to appear. The film, written by Zach Dean, is about “two desperate sibling fugitives (Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde) on the run who subsequently collide with the holiday homecoming of a troubled ex-boxer (Hunnam).” The film is scheduled to shoot in March. [Variety]

After the break, a maybe-report on the actor’s possible involvement with Timur Bekmambetov‘s new film. Read More »